Electric display device.



C. TREGONING.

ELECTRIC DISPLAY DEVICE.

Patented July 25, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l APPLICATION FILED MAR. 8. 1916.

@CM/ff, N l C C. TREGONING.

ELECTRIC DISPLAY DEVICE.

APPucmoN men MAIL n. me.

1,192,585. Patented July 25, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- i W//vfssfs I y I I I /A/I/E/vmf? v (A III I f ,6K7/yay diam@ Y 7 i f4 j BIM A ITO/INE YS C. TREGONING.

ELECTRIC DISPLAY vivaci,

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 8.1916. 1,192,585, Patented July 25, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Il FIQ.

ELECTRIC DISELY DEVICE.

Application filed March 8, 1916.

To all eli/tom t may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES TREGONING, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in thccounty and yState of New York, have invented a new and Improved ElectricDisplay Device, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

This invention relates to display devices and particularly to anelectric display device wherein an illusion is produced by rotating indifferent ways lighted lamps so as to give the appearance of greatlyagitating and shaking the lamps.

Another object in view is to provide a display device which is suppliedwith electric lights on rotatable members and means for rotating themembers in two planes simultaneously so that the lamps are given theappearance of being agitated and shaken at a high rate of speed.

A further object in view is to provide an improved arrangement of partsfor rotating a display arrangement of lamps which will cause thedifferent sets of lamps to rotate in opposite directions in a verticalplane and rotate simultaneously in the same direction in a horizontalplane so that an effect is produced which appears to be a rapid shakingof the lamps as they are moved from place to place. y

A still further object in view is to provide a pair of rotating wheelsor members having electric lamps of different colors on the outer partthereof and mechanism for rotating these wheels together with the lampsso as to produce a pleasing effect wherein the lamps appear to producearcs of light in different planes. j

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a side view of a displaydeviceembodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a side view of the lower part of thedevice shown in Fig. 1, part of the structure being shown in section forthe purpose of illustrating the operating parts. Fig. 3 is alongitudinal vertical section through the upper part of the structureshown in F ig.l1, the same being approximately on line 3-3, the viewbeing on an enlarged scale. Fig. 4 is a sectional view through Fig. 3 online a-a. Fig. 5 `is a section through Fig. 2 on line 5- -5, the samebeing on a reduced scale and showing a driving motor and associatedparts in connection, therewith. A

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 25, 1916.

Serial No. 82,868.

Referring to the accompanying drawings by numerals, 1 indicates a frameat the lower part of the device which is provided with a plurality ofbracing arms 2 carrying journal members 3, said arms and journal memberssupporting certain moving parts of the invention hereinafter fullydescribed. Rotatably mounted in the upper arm 2 is a tubular shaft 4,which extends through the bearing member 5 in frame 1 and above saidbearing member for any desired distance. As shown in Fig. 3, the upperend of the tubular shaft 4 is rigidly secured to a beveled gear 6, whichbeveled gear meshes with beveled gears 7 and 8. The beveled gears 7 and8 are loosely mounted upon a tubular shaft 9, which tubular shaft isconnected to a second tubular shaft 10, the connectio-n being preferablysuch that the parts will be rigidly secured together. The tubular shaft10 extends downwardly for the full length of the tubular shaft 1 and, infact, extends downwardly and has a thrust bearing 11, as shown in Fig.2, at the extreme bottom of the frame 1. rlhe bearing member 11 isarranged in a socket 12 formed in the adjusting block 13, whichadjusting block is threaded into socket 141- formed in the lower part offrame 1, a lock nut 15 being used to lock the block `13'into anysuitable adjustment. By this construction and arrangement the shaft 10uses the beveled gear G at the upper end as a bearing member and theblock 13 at the lower end as a bearing member, whereby the shaft mayproperly rotate or may remain stationary as may be preferred.

On the tubular shaft 9, as shown in Fig. 3, there are mounted rings 16,17, 1S and 19, which rings yare spaced from the member 9 by suitableinsulating members and 21. The rings and bearing members 20 and 21 areadapted to remain stationary ordinarily but rotate in a horizontal planeunder some circumstanceaas when the shaft 9 is rotated in a horizontalplane. These rings 16 to 19, inclusive, are intended to act as supplyrings for electrical current to certain lamps hereinafter fullydescribed, said supply rings receiving current from the supply wires 22and 23, respectively, which supply wires are connectedto vertical supplywires 21 and 25. The vertical supply wires 24 andv 25 extend for thefull length of the tubular shaft 1.0 and are connected to the CFI sliprings 26 and Y27 at the bottom shaft 10, as shown in Fig. 2, said sliprings being supplied with current from any suitable Source through thebrushes 28 and 29.

Rigidly secured to the beveled gear.7 is a hub 30 (Fig. 3) which hub hasconnected therewith a plurality of hollow spokes 31 on the end of whichare arranged various lamps 32 as shown in Fig. 1,.said lamps beso thatin case any of the bars or wiresy should move out of place the same will'not become short circuited.

Connected with the beveled gear 8 is a hub and spokes and associatedparts similar to that connected with beveled gear 7 'so that noadditional description will ybe given. From this construction andarrangement it will be seen that there are provided in reality two wheelstructures, the Same 'being provided with hubs and spokesbut no felly,the lamps taking the place of the felly, 'thc idea being to providelamps for display purposes. As shown more clearly in Fig. 1, thc spokesare of different lengths so' that when the wheels are rotated in avertical plane but otherwise held stationary, circles of light will beproduced. If the wheels are held againstv rotation in a vertical planebut are rotated inV a horizontal plane, horizontal circles of light willbe produced. If the wheels are rotated both in a horizontal and avertical plane simultaneously, the mixing of the horizontal circles oflight and vertical circles of light will cause arc-shaped streams v oflight at various angles, said angles continually changing according tothe rotation andthe speed of the parts. When the wheels areV rotating ina vertical plane the tubular shaft 10 is held stationary or fixed whiletubular shaft 4 is rotated. This will cause the wheels to rotate inopposite directions to increase the bewildering elfect of the streams oflight.

The mechanism for rotating the wheels in the different planes mentionedis disclosed in Fig. 2, from which it will be observed' there isprovided an arrangement of clutches 37 and 38 for throwing into and outof operation the tubular'shafts 4 and 10. The clutch 37 is provided withan upper plate 39 rigidly secured to the shaft 4 by any desired means,as for instance, by being threaded thereto, said plate having aturneddown annular portion 40 for receiving belt 41,'said belt beingprevented from slipping off byany suitable means, as for instance, an

44, which ring or plate is rigidly connected to a wearing disk 45 offiber or other suit'- i ableV material.V The wearing plate or disk 45 isadapted to contact with the friction plate 4G rigidly secured to thetubular meml ber 47 which tubular member has aV friction plate 48 at thelower'end and forming part of the clutch 38. The clutch 38 is formedidentically with the clutch 37 but operatesv in opposition thereto, sothat a further detailed description is not thought to be necessary.

Inconnection with the clutch 37 it will be observed that the spring 49is provided for continually urging the plate 44 and the friction disk 45downwardly so that the friction disk will engage the plate 46. Thetubular member 47 has a drive pulley 50 rigidly secured thereto beingoperated by a belt or cable 51 hereinafter fully described, where'bythetubular member 47 will he roy-'r tated as long as the power is turnedon. A tubular member 52 is connected rigidly with the member 47, saidtubular member being provided with an annular flange 53 at the lower endand having an annular iianged member 54 connected thereto at the upperend so that there will be provided an annular groove for the block orring 55, which block or ring carries upper and lower antifrictionmembers or balls 56. The ring 55 is formed with apertures or notchesinto which the pins 57 and 58 (Fig. 5) extend, said pins being connectedto the arms 59 and 60 of theV lever 61, which Vlever is pivoted at. 62to the frame 1. By this construction and arrangement whenever the leveris moved' upwardly or downwardly the clutches 37 and 38 will be openedor closed, as the case y may be. 'For instance, as Yshown in thedrawings, when the lever is moved pivotally downwardly clutch 37 will beopened and clutch 38 closed so that shaft 10 will be rotated. Vhen thelever is moved upwardly the clutch'37 will be closed and clutch 38opened so that shaft 4 will be rotated and shaft 10j allowed to remainstationary. However, by reason of the pins 43 andthe spring 49there'will be a period when both clutches will beoperating so that boththe tubular shafts 4 and 10 will be rotating.

The lever 61 pivoted at 62 is provided with van enlarged cam guideway63, as shown in Fig. 2, into which the Vcam or eccentric 64 fits, saidcam or eccentric being connected with shaft 65 which in` turn is rigidlyconnected with the driving pulley^ 66 so `that as the shaft isrotatedthe lever 61 will be gradually moved upwardly .and downwardly. The outerend of the lever 61 is connected at 67 to a rod 68 which rod isconnected at 69 to a bell crank lever 70 and at 7l to a bell cranklever-72. The bell crank lever 70 is connected to one end of thefrictiony belt il1 of clutch 37, while the bell crank lever 72 isconnected to one end of the friction belt 73 of clutch 38. Thisarrangement is such that when the lever 6l is raised or lowered to itseXtreme position the respective belts will be tightened land theclutches stopped, otherwise the momentum of the parts would cause thetubular shafts to continue to rotate even after power had been withdrawntherefrom.

Any desired means may be provided for rotating the power pulley 50 andthe power pulley 66, but a. simple and effective arrangement is shown inF ig. 5, in which an ordinary motor 74,-, as for instance, a fan motor,is used, said motor having a driving pulley 75 connected to one end ofthe shaft 76 of the armature, said driving pulley accommodating the beltor cable 5l which opcrates the power pulley 50. The opposite end of theshaft 76 is provided with a worm 77 meshing with a worm gear 78, whichworm gear in turn is rigidly secured to pulley 79, this arrangementbeing usually found on what are known as oscillating fans. The pulley 79accommodates the belt 80, which belt not only passes over pulley 7 9 butover the power pulley 66, thus friving the pulley 66 a very smallmovement compared to the pulley 50 which is given a rapid movement. Inthis way the up and down movement of the lever 6l is very slow and therotary movement of the shafts 4land l0 is comparatively fast, or, atleast, the number ot rotations of these shafts is comparatively numerouscompared to the down movement of the lever 61. This double movement andchanging from one movement to the other causes the action of the wheelson which the lamps 32 are mounted to present different movements of thelamps. These different movements give the appearance of a terrilicshaking of the lamps, whereas the lamps are moving smoothly and easilyin either one or two paths."

To increase the illusionary effect the lamps are differently colored sothat when the device is operating comparatively fast the streams ofdifferent colored light will appear as if intermixing and as if some ofthe lamps would certainly strike against each other as well as be shakento pieces.

IlVhat I claim is l. In an electric display device of the characterdescribed, a pair of wheel structures, electric lamps arranged on thespokes of said wheels, means for rotating said wheels in parallel planesand in opposite directions, means for supplying current to said lampswhile rotating, a rotatable member for rotating bodily said wheels in aplane at right angles to the plane ot the wheels, and a controllingmember for throwing said rotatable member into and out of operation.

2. In an electric display device of the character described, a pair ofrotatable wheels, electric lamps arranged on said wheels, a beveled gearconnected with each of said wheels, .a shaft supporting said gears, athird beveled gear meshing with both of the iirst mentioned beveledgears, a rotatable tubular member connected with said last mentionedbeveled gear, a rotatable tubular member connected with said shaft,y

means for supplying current to said lamps, and means for rotating saidtubular shafts together and independently at will so as to cause saidwheels to rotate in vertical planes or vertical and horizontal planessimultaneously.

3. In an electric display device of the character' described, a pair orrotatable wheel structures, lamps arranged on each of the wheelstructures, a pair of propelling members connected with said wheelstructures so as to cause the same to rotate in parallel vertical planesand also in a horizontal plane, a driving member, and a pair of clutchesconnected with said driving member, one of said clutches acting toconnect one of said propelling members with said driving member and theother of said clutches acting to connect the other propolling memberwith said driving member.

el.. In a display device of the character described, a pair of rotatablemembers, lamps arranged on said members, means for supplying current tosaid lamps, a pair of propelling members for moving the rotatablemembers'in a vertical plane `and also yin'a horizontal plane, a powermember, a

clutch for connecting said power member with one of said propellingmembers, a second clutch for connecting the power member with the otherpropelling member, and means for automatically shifting in cycles saidpower member so that the respective clutches will be operatedalternately for part ot' the time and simultaneously for part of thetime.

5. In a display device of the character described, a plurality ofrotatable wheel structures, lamps on each of said wheel structures, apropelling member for rotating said lamps in a vertical plane, a.propelling member for rotating the lamps in a horizontal plane, a powermember, a pair of clutches associated with said power member forconnecting the power member with either of the propelling members, alever for shifting the position of said powermember, a cam member for0perating said lever, a prime mover, and means for connecting the primemover with the cam each end of said power member for'connect-y ing Vthepower member with the respective propelling members, and a pivotallymounted lever forshifting said power member so that the clutches mayoperate independently part of the time and together part of the time sothat for part of the time only one of said propelling members will berotating while the remaining part both of said propelling members willbe rotating.

7. In an electric display device of the character described, a pluralityof rotatable wheels, a plurality of lamps 'arranged on each of saidwheels, means for supplying electric current to said lamps, a pair oftubular propelling members for rotating said wheels in vertical planesand also in horizontal planes, a rotatable power member,

a clutch for connecting said power member with one of said propellingmembers, a sec: ond clutch connecting said power member with the otherof said propelling members, a pivotally mounted lever connected withsaid power member so that the power member may be shifted to causeeither of the clutches to be operated, a cam engaging said lever, andmeans for rotating said cam f whereby the power member will be .auto

.tatable members in a plurality of different planes, a rotatable powermember, a. clutch for'connectingsaid rotatable power member with one ofthe propelling members, a second clutch for connecting said power memberwith the other of said propelling members, a lever fory shifting saidclutches so that they will alternately be closed, and a brake for eachof the clutches connected with saidV lever and operated thereby forstopping the rotation of either of the propelling members when thrownout of clutch.

9. In an electric display device of the character described, apluralityy of rotatable members provided with lamps, said members beingin parallel planes, a propelling member for rotating said lampsinparallel vertical planes, a second propelling member for rotating saidlamps in a diderent plane while still being rotated in a vertical plane,and means for varying the actionof the propelling means so as to shiftfrom one mode of rotation to another at predetermined intervals. f

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specifica-tion in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES TREGONING.

Witnesses:

GEORGE IV. BRANE, LEM ASOPINIEL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve eentseach, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

